<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Five questions by Frenchsoda</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29971968">Five questions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchsoda/pseuds/Frenchsoda'>Frenchsoda</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Space Sweepers, Captain Jang I love you, F/F, Fluff, With no relation to the plot whatsoever</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 03:20:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,707</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29971968</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frenchsoda/pseuds/Frenchsoda</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Maybe next time!” the arrogant voice gloats, and Blake can only watch the ship harpoon the UTS load and tow it against its hull.</p><p>“Fuck you,” she counters before cutting all communications, so furious she has to set the autopilot to leave her seat and walk around like a caged lion.</p><p>It takes her the whole day to truly calm down, and even then, she hopes she’ll run into that obnoxious captain once more. Just so that, this time, she can defeat her and make her shut her stupid mouth.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>145</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Five questions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallandsundry/gifts">smallandsundry</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Here's a little gift to the wonderful smalls, who bullied me into writing her a Space Sweepers AU! Hope you enjoy, buddy &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first time they meet, Blake only hears her voice through the emergency channel—the one everyone uses for none emergency communications, because where would be the fun otherwise—.</p><p>“Back off, it’s mine!”</p><p>The voice, metallic and smothered by interferences and engine roars, is still shaped with a very distinct playful tone, and Blake can see the bright smile taunting her on the other side of the communicator.</p><p>“We’ll see about that.”</p><p>She’s not in the mood to play. This lost UTS freight could pay for the ship repairs they so desperately need, and if she has to listen to Sun complaining about the broken coolers in the engine room one more time, she’ll throw him in the outer space and maybe, just maybe, she might regret that later on.</p><p>Blake pushes the engine to higher speed, her harpoon sights aiming at the cargo’s upper hull. Through the cockpit window, she can see the other ship tailgating her at her side, so close they could collide at the slightest mistake.</p><p>“You’re too close,” she groans in the communicator.</p><p>“Then you should go away!”</p><p>The other ship gets even closer, and they’re now only a few meters apart. Blake can feel Victory, her own spacecraft, starting to lose its stability because of the pulling effect—the other ship is bigger, more powerful, and could easily survive a collision, whereas Victory would completely lose balance and spin until it crashes on a satellite—.</p><p>Blake clenches her controllers, a deep frown on her face, her eyes jumping from the drifting container edging closer and closer, to her instrument panel sending her more and more alarms.</p><p>“You’re putting us in danger,” she states, tone as calm as she can manage, because fear is starting to creep up as the red alerts multiply. If this keeps going, she’ll risk her crew’s life, alongside with her own.</p><p>“I told you to back off,” the voice replies.</p><p>On the radar, Blake can see the rest of the sweepers gave up and left the race to look for less dangerous catches. Only her own pride made her stay and compete against this ship she never saw before in her life, showing off its bright orange colors, its shining emblem—a yellow heart bursting into flames—and its huge, blasting engines. Victory starts shaking violently, and soon enough Sun’s voice springs in her earpiece.</p><p>“Blake, what the hell is happening? The machines are going crazy over here!”</p><p>She clenches her teeth. Dammit.</p><p>“Nothing,” she mutters, before pulling the controllers and braking sharply, letting the other ship outdistance her at full speed.</p><p>“Maybe next time!” the arrogant voice gloats, and Blake can only watch the ship harpoon the UTS load and tow it against its hull.</p><p>“Fuck you,” she counters before cutting all communications, so furious she has to set the autopilot to leave her seat and walk around like a caged lion.</p><p>It takes her the whole day to truly calm down, and even then, she hopes she’ll run into that obnoxious captain once more. Just so that, this time, she can defeat her and make her shut her stupid mouth.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The second time they meet, Blake sees her for the first time. She spots the orange ship from the other side of sector 12, mooring to a high up flight deck barely big enough for it. Without even realizing it, Blake starts walking towards the platform. She ignores Sun and Ilia calling her and promptly disappears into the crowd, eyes fastened on the spacecraft, up there. She wants to know. She wants to know who ridiculed her like this.</p><p>And, soon enough, she does see her, a girl jumping off the vehicle and engaging the space guard patrol who was waiting for the ship to land. From this far away, Blake can only distinguish a wild blonde mane, aviator sunglasses and a tight leather jacket. It fits that smug voice so perfectly it annoys her even more.</p><p>The patrol leaves and the pilot walks back into her ship. A few moments later, the spacecraft takes off, and Blake tracks it with her eyes until it disappears outside the district’s walls.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The third time they meet, the nameless pilot snatches a space debris right under Blake’s nose. A self-satisfied burst of laugher crackles into the communicator. It’s maddening, and Blake copiously insults the other ship captain in return.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh time they meet, it more or less goes the same way.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The eighth time they meet, Blake is buying drinks to Sun and Ilia in their favorite bar, to celebrate finally gathering enough money to pay for their ship repairs. It’s not like Captain Bitch, as Blake likes to call her, really put a dent in their business. There will always be space debris to collect, and Blake <em>is</em> a fantastic pilot. She can spot and secure valuable cargos in no time, and no other sweeper has managed to compete with her until that complete stranger decided to settle in this space region. So, no, they’re not broke yet. The biggest problem here is that Captain Bitch is better than her. Or, at least, she has a better ship than her.</p><p>But today isn’t about that stupid, infuriating, insufferably presumptuous pilot. It’s about Sun, Ilia and herself celebrating great news. Soon, Victory will be as good as new. Or, well, not as broken as before. And then, then, Captain Bitch won’t see what’s coming for her.</p><p>They’re chilling over some synthetic beers when a ruckus breaks out in the pub.</p><p>“You’re cheating!” At the other side of the room, a man stands up so abruptly his chair crashes on the floor. “Give me my money back!”</p><p>He leans forward to snatch the bills on the table, and that’s when Blake sees it. Wild blonde mane, aviator sunglasses, tight leather jacket. And a shit-eating grin that makes her blood boil.</p><p>“Don’t be a poor loser, Cardin. I won fair and square.”</p><p>“My ass you did!”</p><p>Blake leaves her table and moves closer, just in time to see another girl standing up, embodiment of cold winters with her long braided white hair, her icy eyes and the sharp knife she’s pointing at the guy’s throat.</p><p>“Don’t think I won’t gut you,” she warns.</p><p>Oh, wow. Captain Bitch’s crew doesn’t joke around.</p><p>“Let’s go Cardin,” another boy says, a hand on Cardin’s shoulder. “They’re not worth it.”</p><p>They bump into Blake on their way out and shoot furious glares at her instead of apologizing. But Blake doesn’t care. Her eyes are anchored on the blonde girl, who’s now counting her bills with a satisfied smile on her—full, annoyingly distracting—lips. Sitting next to her, a short dark-haired girl is tinkering with a ship component, numerous spares scattered on the table amongst the cards and the poker chips.</p><p>“Here,” Captain Bitch says as she throws the pile of money in front of the tiny girl. “Go buy a new one instead of trying to fix it over and over again.”</p><p>“But I can save it, I know I can! Let’s keep the money for something else. It’d be nice to have a new hydrogen turbopump, that way I could finally make some upgrades on the engine and try to boost it to the max!”</p><p>Captain Bitch laughs. And it’s her laugh, a laugh that haunted Blake ever since she first heard it on the communicator, and yet, this time, it’s soft, devoid of arrogance, and it sparks something in Blake’s stomach. More anger, surely.</p><p>The white-haired girl is the first one to notice Blake. She puts Cardin’s chair back up, sits on her own and, her knife in her hand, she stares at the intruder.</p><p>“Who are you and what do you want?”</p><p>Blake doesn’t even have time to answer. Captain Bitch smirks and takes her sunglasses off.</p><p>“She wants to play.”</p><p>Two lilac eyes are now piercing her to the core, bright, so bright, to the point they’re blinding, to the point they’re all Blake can see for a few seconds.</p><p>“I don’t gamble,” she finally answers. She hates herself for getting so weak. Is she really that shallow that a simple gaze has such a stupid impact on her?</p><p>“Alright. Let’s not play for money.”</p><p>Blake slightly raises her eyebrows.</p><p>“What for, then?”</p><p>The other girl’s smile grows bigger. “Five questions.” She pushes Cardin’s chair with her foot to invite Blake to sit down. “If you win, you can ask me five questions and I’ll answer honestly. If I win, well… You get it.” Blake ponders for a while, eventually complies, and she hates herself even more for that.</p><p>The game goes exactly as she expected. Captain Bitch crushes her, and whether it’s because she’s cheating or because Blake is a poor player who only plays cards once every two years, she’ll never know. In front of her, the pilot is so obviously pleased with herself it makes winter girl roll her eyes.</p><p>“Stop being so cocky,” she groans, before sliding her knife in her sleeve and getting up. “Let’s go, Ruby. I’m really not interested in what follows next and you shouldn’t be either.”</p><p>“But Weiss—”</p><p>“I said let’s go.”</p><p>“Ugh, fine,” the so-called Ruby whines, and she gathers her parts into her backpack before leaving the table and following Weiss to the bar.</p><p>Blake is now alone with her new-found enemy. She crosses her arms over her chest, defensive. “So? What do you want to know?”</p><p>“Why did you come to this table?”</p><p>Blake clenches her teeth, frowns, sighs. She could easily lie. But, somehow, it doesn’t feel fair. And what she wants more than anything is to beat fair and square the girl looking at her way too intensely right now.</p><p>“Because I recognized you.”</p><p>“That’s not a complete answer.”</p><p>Blake stares at her. She’s gorgeous, that girl. Perfect skin, perfect eyes, perfect nose, perfect lips, perfect face, perfect body. Too bad Blake can’t say the same about her personality.</p><p>“You keep stealing UTS freight from me, and it pisses me off. You piss me off. I just wanted to let you know that in person.”</p><p>“Oh my god, you’re that girl!” She bursts out laughing and, once more, there’s no arrogance there. She simply sounds delighted, as if finally meeting Blake was the highlight of her day. “I was hoping we’d eventually run into each other.” She leans over the table, still giggling. Blake finds her cute. Shit, no. Not cute. Infuriating. Excessive. Stupid. “I’m really not disappointed.” Flirting?</p><p>“What’s your next question? I don’t have all day.” She’s a bit harsh, to mask her increasing fluster, to divert the other girl’s attention from her ears she can feel turning traitorously pink.</p><p>“What’s your name?”</p><p>“Blake.”</p><p>“Hi, Blake.” She smiles. It’s predacious, and Blake suddenly wonders why, oh why, she decided to go talk to that girl a few minutes earlier. She should have known it would end up terribly. She should have known Captain Bitch would once again trap her and back her into a corner.</p><p>“So, I’m pissing you off, uh? You don’t find it fun, not even one bit?”</p><p>“Yes, and no. And that was two questions.”</p><p>She laughs again. Her golden locks sway on her shoulders. They reveal her neck for one second, and Blake has to summon all her will not to stare.</p><p>“Alright, that’s fair. I guess I only have one question left.”</p><p>“Better choose wisely.”</p><p>She will never, ever admit it out loud, but Blake is starting to have fun. The girl in front of her is not aggressive or a complete douche, like she was expecting. She just likes to play. Before she has a chance to ask her fifth and last question, Weiss and Ruby come back.</p><p>“We have to go,” Weiss says. “It’s about our last…” She throws a quick glare at Blake. “…mission.”</p><p>Blake isn’t stupid. Their ship is way too big and shiny to have been paid with a sweeper’s job only. Captain Bitch is not just sweeping space debris, no. She has another job on the side. And for space sweepers, that generally means stealing and smuggling materials, plants, immigrants under the space guards’ nose.</p><p>“Just when things were starting to get really interesting,” the girl sighs loudly. She gets up and winks at Blake. “So long, Blake. I’ll save my last question for another time.”</p><p>She passes next to her, stops, leans forward. God she’s close.</p><p>“I’m Yang, by the way. Yang Xiao Long.”</p><p>She smiles before leaving for good, and Blake barely remembers how to breathe for the rest of the night.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The ninth time they meet, Yang springs out of nowhere and harpoons the cargo one second before Blake does. The now familiar laugh sputters on the emergency channel.</p><p>“Thanks, Blake!”</p><p>“I hate you, Yang.”</p><p>The orange ship disappears as fast as it appears, once more towing Blake’s precious freight. Except this time, there’s a tiny smile on her lips, and a tiny flutter in her heart.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The tenth time they meet, someone bangs loudly at their ship’s doors. Blake leaves Sun and Ilia in the middle of some last minute and frankly frightening repairs, and finds herself face to face with Yang and Ruby, a colossal number of tools and parts spread at their feet.</p><p>“What—”</p><p>“Hi, Blake!” Yang’s voice is smooth and sultry. “We’re here to help.”</p><p>“I beg your pardon?”</p><p>“Don’t ask,” Ruby sighs before lifting a heavy bag and helping herself inside.</p><p>Blake turns back towards Yang, eyebrows raised in a silent question.</p><p>“Ruby is an excellent mechanic. And by that I mean she can fix literally anything. We heard your ship took some heavy damage yesterday. She can help with the repairs, and even improve your whole ship’s performance!”</p><p>Blake is so taken aback it takes her a while to register what Yang is saying. And when she does, she can’t help the anger breaking in her voice.</p><p>“I don’t want your pity.”</p><p>Yang smiles. “I knew you’d say that. Trust me, it’s not pity. We don’t have enough time nor money to be charitable.”</p><p>“Then why?”</p><p>“I’ve seen you fly. You’re good. More than good. And I heard you’re the best pilot in the sector.” She sets her foot on a toolbox in front of her and rests her forearm on her thigh. She looks so damn confident. “I wouldn’t mind a little challenge now and then. If you had a decent ship, you might actually give me a hard time.”</p><p>Blake slightly gapes at her. “You want to repair my ship, for free, just for <em>competition</em>?”</p><p>“Yup! Are you in or not?”</p><p>Blake stares at her. There’s no malice in those purple eyes. Somehow, she trusts Yang. And Victory could use a major makeover. What kind of captain would she be if she was dumb enough to turn down a free overhaul?</p><p>“I’m in.”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The eleventh time they meet, she almost outpaces Yang. She still loses the cargo, but it was close.</p><p>“Almost there, Belladonna! Once Ruby is done improving your propeller, I’ll actually be in trouble!”</p><p>“You have no idea.” Blake smiles.</p><p>She’s really having fun.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The twelfth time they meet, they sit in Victory’s main room and play cards while Ruby and Sun are fixing the ship. Ilia is out for some errands, and Weiss is handling some details for another “mission”.</p><p>“It’s immigrants,” Yang confides. “We help them cross continents. Earth is barely livable now, but some places are still better than others. And it’s easier to sneak them in a spacecraft than on a plane or a boat.”</p><p>Blake just nods.</p><p>“We do it for free,” Yang adds as she sets a card on the table.</p><p>Blake loses the game once more. This time, she can’t lie to herself. It’s not because she’s a poor player, it’s not because Yang is cheating. It’s because she finds her impossibly attractive, body and mind, and she can’t focus on anything else.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The thirteenth time they meet, Yang loses the freight to Blake.</p><p>“Holy fuck, Belladonna! You did it! I’m so pissed and so proud at the same time!”</p><p>Blake laughs in the communicator as she maneuvers the ship above the cargo to better tow it.</p><p>“I knew you were all big engines, no skills,” she teases.</p><p>“Harsh! But cocky is a good color on you,” Yang replies, and Blake is glad they’re not in the same cockpit because she’s furiously blushing all of a sudden.</p><p>“Please keep it in your pants,” Weiss’s voice sparks in the radio. “Or at least out of the emergency channel.”</p><p>“You know what, that’s a good idea. Blake, what do you say? Let me take you out!”</p><p>A sudden burst of whistles and <em>“Come on Blake, say yes!”</em> floods the communication and Blake realizes that everyone has been listening to them all along. Not just their crews, but also all the other sweepers in the area. As she should have expected since, as Weiss so kindly pointed out, they are talking on the emergency channel.</p><p>She ostensibly sighs and answers in a spiritless voice, “That’s fine, I guess.”</p><p>People applaud and cheer in the channel. It’s not loud enough to cover the bright “Hell yes!” Yang shouts with a victorious voice.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The fourteenth time they meet is the first time they kiss. It’s not unexpected, no. Blake has been waiting for it the whole night. Yang takes her out in a small bar Blake has never even heard of before, with music from the old times, catchy and melodious, and they spend the evening talking, laughing, wagering on who’d win at pool, who’d flip the coin directly into the pint, who’d get a free drink from the bartender first—Blake wins the first two, Yang the third—.</p><p>It’s a date. Even better, it’s a great date. Blake is having fun. So is Yang. There are heavy stares and hot whispers and knowing smiles and light touches and impatient shivers. They know what comes next, and they’re taking their time, enjoying those remaining hours, minutes, seconds, time flowing too quickly and too slowly, eyes burning brighter, hands getting bolder.</p><p>When they get out of the bar, they walk side by side in the crowded streets. It’s 2 am, but sector 12 is still full of life. Sector 12 never sleeps, really.</p><p>Despite the ruckus resonating against the district’s walls and pipes, non-citizens shouts, engines’ racket, ships banging too loudly on flight decks, Blake is convinced Yang can hear her heart throbbing in her chest. Their hands brush past each other, and she takes Yang’s into her own. Their fingers instantly intertwine, and it feels natural, safe, an evidence that was missing all this time.</p><p>Yang brings her home. They barely wait for the door to close to press against each other, lips against lips, hands running in long hair and under soft clothes. They groan into the kiss, and both release and tension flare through Blake’s whole body. It feels so good. Yang feels so good.</p><p>Blake smiles against her lips. She won’t let her get any rest tonight.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The thirty-seventh time they meet, Blake flies Victory towards Yang’s ship as soon as she spots it on the radar. Because of one of her “missions”, she hasn’t seen Yang in five days, and she felt her absence in her bones.</p><p>“Hey, Belladonna.”</p><p>She can hear the smile through the communicator, and it makes her heart leap.</p><p>“Hey, Xiao Long.”</p><p>“Miss me?”</p><p>Yes. So much. “You wish.”</p><p>“Guys,” Weiss’s weary voice interrupts. Oh, she’s so done with them. “Could you <em>please</em>, for once in your life, switch to a private channel?”</p><p>“No can do!” Yang immediately replies.</p><p>Weiss mutters a distinct “<em>dunce”</em> and Blake snorts.</p><p>“So, Blake.” Yang’s tone is suddenly serious. “I remembered something while I was away.”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“I believe you owe me one last question.”</p><p>“Oh, I forgot about that.” Blake didn’t. Blake kept thinking about their first conversation over and over again, about that question Yang never asked but will cash in one day, because Yang is like this, Yang remembers, Yang stays true to her word. “So, what’s your question?”</p><p>“Remember, I need an honest answer!” Yang warns.</p><p>“And you’ll get one.”</p><p>Her heart thumps so hard in her chest it aches.</p><p>“Were you really calling me Captain Bitch before we started dating?”</p><p>Blake laughs. She was expecting something else, deeper, more intimate, but she can’t be mad at Yang. She finds her even more endearing instead.</p><p>“Who told you?”</p><p>“Answer me!”</p><p>“It’s Sun, isn’t it? I’m going to kill him. Yes, Yang. Captain Bitch was your official nickname for weeks.”</p><p>“Not gonna lie, I kind of like it.”</p><p>Blake laughs once more. Through the cockpit window, she spots a space debris drifting near the UTS satellite they’ve been flying close to. It looks like a container, still intact. Could be worth a lot. She sets her course towards the cargo, only to see Yang immediately changing her direction too.</p><p>Oh, hell no. That freight is hers. Blake pushes the engines to maximum speed, and the acceleration slams her against her pilot’s seat.</p><p>“Back off, it’s mine!” she playfully says in the emergency channel.</p><p>The signal for a private communication rings in her earpiece. It’s from Yang.</p><p>“Hey, Belladonna.”</p><p>“Hey, Captain Bitch. You don’t want to lose on main?”</p><p>“I love you.”</p><p>Blake gapes, loses her breath, unclenches her fingers around the controllers, and it’s all it takes for Yang to fly by her and snatch the container away.</p><p>“Oh my god.” Blake feels like she just got punched in the face. Yang’s first <em>I love you</em>. How dare she. “I can’t believe you just did that! God, Yang! I hate you!”</p><p>“No, you don’t.”</p><p>“No, I don’t. But you still piss me off!”</p><p>Yang’s laugh resonates once more through the communicator. It’s all Blake wants to listen to, ever again.</p><p>“I really do love you,” Yang says.</p><p>“Cardin was right. You’re a cheater.”</p><p>“And?”</p><p>“And I love you too. Now let’s go home. I really want to make you pay for this.”</p><p>Maybe this time Blake didn’t defeat Yang but, at least, she makes her shut her pretty mouth as soon as they get home.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>